


so happily

by just_in_cases



Category: One Direction (Band), Radio 1 RPF
Genre: Kid Fic, M/M, lots and lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-16
Updated: 2014-03-16
Packaged: 2018-01-15 21:51:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1320469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_in_cases/pseuds/just_in_cases
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>And, okay, maybe cooking with two small children isn't the easiest thing in the world.</i>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Or the one where Nick's masterplan to have his son and Harry's daughter help him cook Harry dinner doesn't <i>exactly</i> go as planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	so happily

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, millions and millions of thanks to [Caitlin](http://archiveofourown.org/users/wrongtree/) for helping me touch up this fic and make my ideas even better than they started out as.
> 
> This fic is extremely cute and fluffy and everything I want in a Nick/Harry fic.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Let me get this straight. You, and the kids, are going to cook me dinner?” Harry asks with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Harry can hear Nick scoff over the phone, “Do not underestimate my cooking skills, Harold. Or the children’s.”

Harry laughs out loud at that, “Oh, it’s not the kids I’m worried about. It’s you.”

“I’m going to prove you wrong. Be at my place tomorrow at 5. Bring little Lucy, she’s going to help.” Nick says in a tone of finality.

Harry agrees but also has a very bad feeling that this is going to go horribly wrong. Ever since they started dating three months ago, Harry has always done the cooking on date nights while Nick kept the kids entertained in the living room. It’s just been their routine. Harry isn’t even positive that Nick knows his way around a kitchen, especially while trying to control two 2 year olds at the same time.

“We’ll be there,” Harry says. 

There’s a crashing noise in the background before Nick is hurriedly saying, “No Max, not my records! Oh God, I gotta go Haz, I love you, tell Lucy I said hi!” before clicking off the phone.

Harry let’s out a huff of laughter as he puts his phone back in his pocket. “Hey Lucy!” he calls so his daughter can hear him from where she’s playing in her room.

“Yesssssssssss?” 

“Do you want to go over to Grimmy’s tomorrow and help him cook dinner?” He yells back to her. There’s no immediate answer, so Harry gets up to make his way to her room before his daughter comes running into the living room.

“Gwimmy wants me to help? He said that? Yes! Yes! Yes! I have to find something to wear! I have to look extwa fancy for our dinner, Daddy!” She’s then taking off, back to her room, leaving Harry standing in the middle of the living room shaking his head with a fond smile on his face.

\---------------------

There’s a knock on the door at 4:55. Nick makes his way to the door, steps on one of Max’s many toys on the way there, and grunts a few curse words before opening the door to Harry and Lucy.

Nick leans in for a quick kiss to Harry’s cheek, let’s out a breathless, “Hi,” before turning his attention to Harry’s daughter. “And hello little Lucy!” Nick exclaims with an ear-to-ear smile on his face.

“Hi Gwimmy!” Lucy says. “I’m a pwincess! Daddy did my hair!” She’s pulling on her pigtails to show them off to Nick. Harry sets her down on the floor and she does a spin to show off her dress. “Do you like my dwess? Daddy says it’s my pwincess dwess!”

“I love it Luce! You are the prettiest princess in all of the land!” Nick declares before Lucy runs to where Max is playing with his dinosaur toys.

Nick turns his attention back to Harry. Harry’s attention is still on his daughter, a look of complete adoration on his face. “And you are the most handsome king in all of the land,” Nick says before going in for another kiss, on the lips this time. 

“I told her you wanted her to help you cook tonight and she wanted to dress up for the occasion. It was that dress or her Halloween costume from last year. Didn’t want to deal with any bathroom emergencies while she was wearing her lion costume. Learned my lesson last year with that.” Harry explains. 

“Well, she’s adorable, as always.” Nick says, looking over to where Max and Lucy are holding a wedding between a dinosaur and a giraffe. He claps his hands in front of him and rocks backwards on his heels, “Well, dinner isn’t going to cook itself. You stay in here. Do not come in the kitchen until we come get you. I mean it Haz! Don’t ruin the surprise! If you do, you’ll have two very sad kids on your hands, they might even cry, I might even cry! And no one wants that.”

“I promise,” Harry says before going to scoop up Lucy in his arms. “Okay Lucy Goosey, it’s your turn to shine in the kitchen! Show Nick everything I’ve taught you!” He sets her back down after giving her a kiss on the top of her head.

Lucy heads towards the kitchen. Nick and Max have already gone in. Before she closes the door behind her, she turns back to Harry, points her finger at him and says in a very loud whisper, “AND NO PEEKING DADDY! IT’S A SEEEEEECWET!” 

“Cross my heart sweetie,” Harry says as he crosses his fingers over his heart for emphasis. He blows Lucy once last kiss that she catches in her hand and stuffs in her pocket before entering the kitchen.

\-----------------------

In the kitchen, Nick sets Max and Lucy on the island countertop. He has pots and pans set out on the stovetop and the water is ready to be heated. His plan had been to make spaghetti. Partly because it’s easy to make. Mostly because it’s one of the only things he knows the kids will eat. On the countertop, where the kids are sitting, there are bowls and ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies. He figures the kids can help dump the chocolate chips into the bowl, make them feel like they’re playing a huge role in the dinner.

Nick sets some water on the stove to boil before turning back to look at the kids. When he turns around, the kids are both sitting on the counter, making funny faces at each other, and banging on the mixing bowls with some wooden spoons. 

_Harry was wrong_ , Nick thinks, _this isn’t hard at all._

He turns back to the stove and rechecks his ingredients for a third time, making sure he has everything he needs. The water is coming to a boil when he hears a cry come from behind him. When he spins around, he sees Max with flour in his hair, a wobbly bottom lip on his face, and a guilty look on Lucy’s.

“Lucy, was that a nice thing to do to Max?” Nick asks calmly as he brushes the flour from his son’s hair.

Lucy looks down at her lap sadly, “No. I’m sowwy, Max.” She helps Nick brush some of the flour out of Max’s hair before giving him a kiss on the cheek in apology.

When most of the flour is brushed out of Max’s hair, Nick turns back to the water and drops the spaghetti in to cook. He’s mixing the sauce in another pan and is starting to put together a salad when he hears a, “MAX STOP IT!!!” 

And, okay, maybe cooking with two small children _isn’t_ the easiest thing in the world.

\----------------------

Harry’s sitting on the couch, watching an old episode of Gogglebox when he hears commotion coming from the kitchen. He turns down the volume a bit on the television so he can eavesdrop on what’s going on.

_No, Max, don’t put that in her ear!_

_Lucy, what did I say about the flour? It goes in the bowl, not on the floor._

Harry considers going to the kitchen to check out what’s going on. He’s just about to stand up from the couch when he remembers what Lucy and Nick told him. He’s not allowed in the kitchen until they say so. And he knows if he goes in there now, before dinner is cooked, he’ll have an angry boyfriend _and_ a sad daughter to deal with. 

He settles himself back on the couch, volume on the television still turned down so he can hear what’s going on in the kitchen.

\--------------------

It gets eerily quiet all of a sudden and Harry is beginning to worry about what’s going on in the other room. He knows, of course, that nothing horrible has happened because Nick would definitely come and tell him if that was the case. Still, he can’t help but wonder how it went from hearing two kids, and Nick, making a ruckus to near silence in such a short amount of time.

He’s about to start another episode of Gogglebox when he hears the kitchen door open. When he looks over, he sees Lucy standing in front of the door, hands clasped in front of her, huge smile on her face. “Dinner is weady, Daddy!”

Harry gets up from the couch and makes his way over to where his daughter is standing. When he reaches her side, she grabs his hand and guides him toward the kitchen. She stops before opening the door, “Close your eyes daddy! And don’t look until I say you can! Okay?”

“Okay Lucy Goosey. I promise. I won’t even peek!” He puts his free hand over his eyes while Lucy pulls on his other hand to guide him into the kitchen. 

He stops walking when he runs into the back of a chair, letting out an _“Ouch!”_ under his breath.

Lucy squeezes his hand, “Sowwy daddy! You can open your eyes now!”

When Harry takes his hand away from his eyes and looks at the table, he hears Max yell a, “SURPRISE!” and Lucy is clapping her hands in excitement.

“Do you like it daddy? Did we do good?” She asks as he takes in the scene in front of him.

Nick and Max are sitting in their chairs at the table. There are two open chairs for Harry and Lucy. And on the table, at each spot, are bowls of cereal. Harry glances towards the sink. Piled up high are pots and pans and mixing bowls. 

After he looks back to the table, he stoops to be at Lucy’s eye level, “I love it Luce, absolutely love it!” He tops it off with a kiss to her cheek before lifting her up to her seat and sitting down in his own.

Nick hasn’t said anything since Harry’s walked into the kitchen. Harry notices it right away. Notices how Nick looks a little embarrassed, like he let down Harry just a little it. Harry reaches over to grab Nick’s hand and gives it a squeeze.

“Sorry,” is all Nick mouths to Harry.

Harry gives his hand another reassuring squeeze and mouths, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” is what Harry receives back, this time out loud.

Before Harry can get down three spoonfuls of Cheerios, Lucy is asking Harry how he likes the meal they cooked for him.

Harry takes another glance around the kitchen. He looks at Max, who still has flour specks in his hair. He’s definitely going to need a bath tonight, Harry thinks. Then he looks at Nick, who looks exhausted, his quiff slightly drooping but his hand so warm in Harry’s. He looks over to the dirty dishes in the sink and the mess on the countertop. He even notices a slightly burnt smell in the air. When he looks back towards his daughter, he sees a smudge of flour on her cheek that he wipes off with his thumb. And _yeah,_ he thinks, _this meal is absolutely perfect._

“Best meal I’ve ever eaten, sweetie.” Harry boops Lucy on the nose before she goes back to eating her Cheerios, both of them smiling so big their dimples are on display.


End file.
